Augmented Reality (hereinafter, “AR”) generally refers to a digital depiction of a live scene in the physical world captured by a camera with computer-generated elements interposed or rendered within the live view, creating an augmented live view.
FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting an exemplary scene captured by a computing device parallel to a background planar surface. As depicted in FIG. 1, background objects, such as whiteboard 120 and plant 130, can be captured within a viewfinder on a display of a computing device that utilizes a camera, such as tablet computer 100 with display screen 110 and a camera lens (not pictured). Display screen 110 can display a depiction of the physical world which includes a digital representation of whiteboard 120 (125) and a digital representation of plant 130 (135). Through the use of AR technology, tablet computer 100 can additionally render a digital object not physically present within the live scene on display 110, such as digital painting 140.
AR technology has numerous uses in various fields, such as advertising, entertainment, education, sports, and design. Furthermore, AR applications can be implemented on a wide range of commonly used devices that include camera attachments and digital displays, such as cellular phones, tablet computers, digital cameras, and laptops. Accordingly, AR technology is a powerful yet accessible tool. AR technology can be used by professional users, such as professional designers, to view completed projects in a live scene before any physical labor is performed. Additionally, AR technology can be used by lay users, such as smart phone or tablet computer owners, for entertainment purposes or to perform household or office tasks, such as home or office design.
However, while FIG. 1 depicts the capture of a live scene from a direct view with tablet computer 100 positioned to be parallel to the background planar surface, often users may desire to view live scenes from perspectives that are not direct. However, viewing live scenes augmented with digital objects from non-direct perspectives can lead to complications with rendering the digital object in a realistic fashion.
For example, FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting an exemplary scene captured by a computing device that is not parallel to a background planar surface. As depicted in FIG. 2, background objects, such as whiteboard 220 and plant 230, can be captured within a viewfinder on a display of a computing device that utilizes a camera, such as tablet computer 200 with display screen 210 and a camera lens (not pictured). Display screen 210 can display a digital depiction of a physical scene which includes a digital representation of whiteboard 220 (225) and a digital representation of plant 230 (235). FIG. 2 depicts the capture of a live scene from a view that is not direct because tablet computer 200 is not positioned to be parallel to a background planar surface. Accordingly, while whiteboard 230 is, in reality, rectangular in shape, the digital representation of whiteboard 220 (225) appears skewed on the viewfinder.
Through the use of AR technology, tablet computer 200 can additionally render a digital object not physically present within the live scene on display 210, such as digital painting 240. However, digital painting 240 is rendered onto the digital scene in a rectangular shape and, accordingly, does not appear realistic within the scene captured on digital display 210 compared to the skewed shape of the digital representation of whiteboard 220 (225).
AR technologies currently include methods for manipulating perspectives of digital objects augmented on to live scenes. However, to maintain realism the manipulated perspective of the digital object should continuously match the perspective of the background objects within the display, even if the perspective of the background changes through the movement of the camera or background objects.
One method for matching perspectives of digital objects with the perspectives of background objects in a digital display is through the use of a specifically designed physical reference object. For example, a physical reference object with known dimensions can be placed in a location the user desires to render a digital object. The user can then capture the scene on a viewfinder on a display of a computing device with a camera attachment, and an AR application can digitally replace the physical reference object with the desired digital object in the live scene.
However, the placement and use of a physical reference object can be cumbersome, and such physical reference objects may not be readily available to lay users of devices, such as cellular phone and tablet computer owners. Accordingly, AR technology may be improved by techniques for detecting changes in scene properties, such as scene geometry, without the use of physical reference images.